For the fourth time in three presidential debates, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts in Houston on Thursday faced a variation of the same question from a moderator: Will she raise taxes on the middle class to fund Medicare for All?
And for the fourth time, Warren deployed what in politics is known as an artful dodge. She didn’t say yes, and she didn’t say no. “Those at the very top, the richest individuals and the biggest corporations, are going to pay more,” she told the moderator George Stephanopoulos. “And middle-class families are going to pay less. That’s how this is going to work.”
Stephanopoulos dutifully followed up: “Direct question,” he said. “You said middle-class families are going to pay less. Will middle-class taxes go up to pay for the program?”
Again, Warren deflected. “What families have to deal with is cost, total cost. That’s what they have to deal with,” she replied. “What we’re talking about here is what’s going to happen in families’ pockets, what’s going to happen in their budgets. And the answer is Medicare for All. Costs are going to go up for wealthier individuals, and costs are going to go up for giant corporations. But for hard-working families across this country, costs are going to go down, and that’s how it should work under Medicare for All in our health-care system.”